If you are among those who picked a low-cost pair of glasses from Amazon to watch the August 21 solar eclipse, you can expect a refund from the company.
Viewers are getting prepared in the US for the upcoming solar eclipse, and many have purchased protective glasses from retailers such as Amazon.com. It has now come out that not all the glasses sold are safe, and there are unsafe versions being sold on the market as well.
The company has confirmed that it is proactively taking measures to refund the amount spent on the purchase of unsafe solar eclipse glasses that failed to meet the ISO 12312-2 safety standard. Amazon has taken extra effort to list all the glasses that meet the required standard, along with their respective ISO markings for easy reference. The Seattle, WA-based e-commerce giant has taken this initiative to protect thousands of customers from damaging their eyesight with the low-cost and low-standard device bought from its online store.
In a statement to Oregon broadcaster KGW, Amazon said that it made the decision “out of “an abundance of caution.”
The company has stated that safety is the top priority and it considers itself responsible, as the low standard glasses was purchased from its portal. Amazon is very clear that any product sold on its platforms should meet prevalent standards. KGW reported on Saturday that a customer received an email from Amazon mentioning that the glasses purchased were not safe for viewing the solar eclipse, and said that it is processing a refund.
Amazon representatives said in a statement provided to KGW: “We want customers to buy with confidence anytime they make a purchase on Amazon.com and eclipse glasses sold on Amazon.com are required to comply with the relevant ISO standard.” A similar statement was also given to TechCrunch by Amazon representatives.
Amazon is proactively refunding the amount to its customers, along with the warning note that the glasses are not up to the standard required to protect the eyes from the solar eclipse. It also did not ask for the glasses to be returned after the refund is issued.
However, if you’ve received such an email from Amazon, please do not use those glasses to view the solar eclipse. There are still four days to go before the August 21 solar eclipse – plenty of time to order properly certified viewing glasses from Amazon under its two-day free shipping offer for Prime members. If you’re not a member yet, you can take advantage of their free trial period to get the two-day free shipping offer.
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